Product Description

Studio: Adv Films Release Date: 05/25/2004 Run time: 240 minutes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38177 in DVD
• Brand: ADV Films
• Released on: 2004-05-25
• Rating: NC-17
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Full Screen, Surround Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 240 minutes

Features

• CUTEY HONEY: ESSENTIAL ANIME COLLECTION (DVD MOVIE)

Amazon.com
This 1994 OAV was the first of several revivals of the 1973 TV series based on Go Nagai's manga stories. The characters are an assortment of familiar types. Diminutive, cartoony Grandfather Denbei appears alternately powerful and lecherous. Chokkei is the blushing teenage boy whose innocent charm earns him the protection of the buxom title character, the "lovely warrior" android who fights evil while losing her clothes with a frequency that would shock Little Annie Fannie. They're pitted against the demonic Dolmek and his hench-creatures who are trying to take over Cosplay City. But Honey proves more than a match for these nasty but ultimately ineffectual villains as she jiggles her way from victory to victory. New Cutey Honey embodies the "big eyes, big guns, big breasts" clichés that cause detractors to dismiss all Japanese animation--and send adolescent boys' pulses racing. Rated 17 Up: Nudity, violence, profanity. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Fan-Service Galore
If you've read any of my previous reviews, then you know that I'm not a huge fan of fan-service. I think its shameless and I believe that animators use it to keep your attention while they struggle to keep the story going. This is why weaker anime can sometimes thrive, because it allures subconsciously to our more carnal section of our brains (philosophical, huh?). New Cutey Honey, however, isn't one of those anime. Fan-service dominates this series, but it runs parallel to the story, and is really meant to bring about laughs more than anything.

Honey is an android capable of changing into many different forms, all with their own special skills and uniforms. Unfortunately, that means she must end up in the buff for at least a few moments while the old uniforms shreds away for the new one to come. Though clearly shameless, it's usually funny because no matter how modest she attempts to be it just doesn't work. She must use a vast array of uniforms and skills in order to battle the evil Dolmeck, the man responsible for taking control of an entire city. Helping Honey is a young boy--who blushingly idolizes Honey--and his family, including the lecherous grandpa and the boy's criminal parents. When mixed together, it adds an interesting and unique cast.

Though filled with action and some drama, this is not a drama in any way. It's pure slapstick comedy from start to finish, never meant to be taken seriously. The animation quality is pretty high for an anime of that time, and Go Nagai, one of the legendary directors and animators, applies his well-known style. I'd recommend this to people who either enjoyed the original Cutey Honey series, are a fan of Go Nagai and his many anime, or like anime similar in design such as Golden Boy, then pick this up. Rated 17+, though, I would keep it away from children.

"She's The Girl With The . . . Uh . . . "
yeah, I forget! With Honey's bouncy breasts and ample derriere- jutting, the words in the title song are somewhat lost. Cutey Honey is a fun anime that I plan to keep watching. In this first volume, the title character makes her debut. A demure secretary for Mayor Light, Honey Kisaragi discovers her true identity with the help of a dirty old man, Grandpa Danbei. Honey can "change" appearance and costume into just about anything, including a gorgeous mermaid, depending on what the situation calls for. All she has to do is yell "Honey, FLASH!!"

In Cosplay City, where all the buildings close up look suspiciously like The Flintstones' houses, there are all kinds of He-Man reject villians attacking anything right and just. Mayor Light is the last bastion of justice for the city. Little Grandpa Danbei, whose body is really a cyborg, enhanced with powerful weapons, knows Honey's secret. His grandson, Chokkei, and Chokkei's parents, live with him and Honey. Chokkei's dad is also a pervert. One disturbing scene shows an enraged Chokkei's mom, naked and ranting about what a good body she has, after she has captured her husband and father-in-law spying on Honey in the shower. The scene is disturbing because Chokkei is grabbing his naked mom, trying to stop her.

Where does Honey come from? Much more of the mystery of her past has yet to be revealed. In the third episode, it is revealed she is an android. The main He-Man Villian Reject, Dolmek, comments that Honey, the "lovely warrior" is part of a prophecy. What is the prophecy? Is Honey unknowingly playing into the bad guys' hands?

I am a little confused. Honey's changing involves the magical girl genre, but she is an android. So is she magic or mecha? In anime, the two are rarely combined. Oh, well, maybe I am overthinking it. Let's watch the jiggling, round chest and fabulous physique. "She's the Girl With The . . . Uh . . . "

Cutey Honey is a good anime to watch.
Let's get right to the point. Cutey Honey is in no way an "award-winning", nor an "award-worthy" anime. If you're looking for an anime that will amaze, mentally challenge, and/or force you to ponder greater thoughts in life, this isn't it. However, if you're looking for a few good laughs, and are not particularly bothered by almost endless, and pointless female nudity (not really graphic), then maybe this is for you. This anime has some violence, but no strong sexual content. The English dubbing is done by a credible team at ADV.

The story is not particularly strong, deep, and/or complex. However, some of the characters are all very likeable, and they'll probably grow on you, as they have on me. The anime starts weak, but it eventually gets better as the episodes progresses. There are a total of 4 episodes on this DVD. I regretted buying this anime during the first episode, was mildly interested in the second, curious by the third, and won over completely by the fourth. I'm looking forward to the rest of the unfortunately short series.